February 2, 2023 • 34 mins
We visit Bygone Beauty's Treasured Teapot Museum in the Blue Mountains which boasts over 8,000 teapots on display!
You'll be amazed at the history and creativity that goes into these humble vessels for boiling water. We meet Maurice, the owner, and learn about the most unusual teapots in their collection, and find out why this museum is a must-visit for anyone with a love for the unusual and the quirky.
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Episode Transcript
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Maurice (00:00):
I live for the day that I can stop myself from buying
Teapots,$800 people would payfor it.
Kate (00:08):
Is the OAM for services to Teapots?
Welcome to Roadshow and Tell, apodcast for people hoping to
improve their pub trivia teamscore.
I'm your host, Kate, and I'llvisit museums so you can learn
things you never knew you wantedto.
(00:34):
Settle in and pour yourself acup of Rosy Lee-that's rhyming
slang for tea.
In this episode, we're visitinga teapot museum and tea rooms in
the town of Leura.
Leura is a small town in theBlue Mountains, nearly two hours
west of Sydney.
I chat to Maurice, the owner,about all things tea, including
the difference betweentraditional high tea and
(00:56):
afternoon tea, how to spot agood op shop teapot, and what
his favorite teapot is.
Plus we take a stroll throughthe museum, which displays
teapots of all shapes and sizes,including teapots shaped like
little old ladies, a nest ofchicks, Peter Rabbit, Master
Piggy, a Harrod's gift basket,an English cottage, pinup model
(01:17):
Suzy Cooper, the Tardis,Sylvester the cat, Humpty
Dumpty, the Sphynx, and awatermelon slice.
So today I'm at Bygone Beauty'sTreasured Teapot Museum and Tea
Rooms with Maurice Cooper OAM.
Good morning, Maurice.
Maurice (01:35):
Good morning young Kate
Kate (01:36):
and Maurice, whose land are we on today?
Maurice (01:38):
We're we're on the Dharug and Gundagurra First
Nation land.
Kate (01:43):
So this is a teapot museum and tea rooms, is that correct?
Maurice (01:46):
That's quite correct.
And we're in our 30th year inthis building.
Kate (01:50):
And how did Bygone Beauties come to be?
Maurice (01:53):
Ron who started the collection, I came into it when
there was 58 teapots.
So I did not start thecollection, but I think Ron
would agree that I was the onethat had the passion for the
teapots, and I've had manycollections myself.
I started collecting silverplate when I was about eight
(02:13):
years of age.
I just had a fascination forthat.
But I've had some extensivecollections.
Obviously the silver plate movedto sterling silver and all the
different variables of thatthroughout the world, and I
still have quite a goodcollection of that.
But back to the teapots.
So I was looking to retire.
(02:33):
Around about 45.
And as you can see, I'm stillhere, and I won't see 75 again.
So I I bought this building,which had been a restaurant and
it seemed to be a good building.
But of course I lacked knowledgeof retail.
I was in entirely differentarena.
And the long and the short isthat I found very quickly that
(02:57):
position is everything.
And so I said to Ron, Why don'twe put the teapots up on
display?
And because we're involved withtwo other shops in the
mountains, we gave littlevouchers for people if they
purchased anything, to come hereand have a cup of tea and look
at the teapot collection.
Kate (03:16):
And at this stage it was just 55 teapots, you said?
Maurice (03:19):
No, no.
By this stage we had the grandsum of 300.
300.
That was a lot.
And of course, this building is,has been extensively both
renovated and extended.
Kate (03:31):
There are over 12,000 teapots in the museum's
collection, but not all arehoused in the building.
There are over 8,000 teapotscurrently on display in the
building at any given time, plusmore stock for sale in the
museum store.
Can you imagine doing a stocktake on that?
Maurice (03:48):
Well, believe it or not, I remember once when we
advertised that we had 5,000,somebody spent some time and
came back and said, I can onlysee 4,700.
I couldn't believe that theycounted them.
And but then I was able to openall the drawer, underneath the
display cabinets and say tothem, Well, these are the
teapots we haven't researchedyet.
Kate (04:09):
So Maurice's collection process requires that incoming
teapots be researched andcataloged before entering the
display.
Some of the teapots for sale areoriginal and some are
duplicates, meaning replicas.
Maurice (04:22):
And if I could be so bold to say, perhaps ones that I
consider are not quite museum.
And indeed, many curators ofother museum would just see them
as as objects rather than anitem of museum quality.
But I like nothing better thansomebody will come in and say, I
(04:44):
remember that one.
My nan had that one.
And, I'm sure it gives themdelight, but it gives me a great
deal of delight.
Cause a lot of people have theircollections packed up.
No one sees them, but mine arereadily seen.
Kate (04:57):
Yeah.
I love these ones on displayhere.
So you think some people mightcall them filler teapots?
But you see beauty in all ofthem.
Maurice (05:04):
Oh, I do, I do.
In fact, people sometimes ask meabout my favorite teapot.
Kate (05:10):
That was a question I had.
Yes.
Do you have a favorite?
Maurice (05:13):
Well I do, of course I favour many, but there is one.
My dad who had an engineeringbackground, he knew very little
about teapots and he lives in,lived in Adelaide.
And in readiness for my visits,he would go around and find
different teapots at differentshops If he found a teapot, the
shopkeepers got to know him and,he'd find the teapot and then
(05:37):
he'd move a vase in front of it.
Or he'd move a clock or afigurine so that other customers
wouldn't perhaps catch theteapot.
And he often would say to methey don't have a clue.
But of course he didn't have aclue about teapots.
He was a very intelligent cove.
And anyway, one day he did findit particularly interesting
(05:58):
teapot, not what most peoplewould call attractive, and in
fact, it had ducks flying on it.
It's a very unusual teapot.
And although it's an uglyduckling, I refer to it as my
favorite because my dad found.
Kate (06:13):
What a sweet story.
We will visit this teapot laterin the unique cabinet of the
museum.
Let's circle back to how you gotinto teapots.
So your co-founder, he had theteapots, and then you had the
passion.
So how did your passion forTeapots come about?
Maurice (06:30):
My passion for the teapots was that I thought I
might as well love this asanything.
And so I've devoted a lot of mytime and effort and as I've
said, as the years have gone by,I mean, I was in my late
fifties, Early sixties when Irealized that the teapots were
worthy of preservation.
I live for the day that I canmyself from buying Teapots, and
(06:54):
devote some money to a programwhere every teapots numbered.
Kate (06:59):
So people collect teapots in different ways.
Sometimes small collectors of 80teapots may only have one of
significance, but you have topurchase the whole collection.
Maurice will often buycollections that include
duplicate teapots of ones healready owns, so he can sell it
cheaply to another collector orsomeone who wants to buy a good
teapot at a reasonable price.
Maurice (07:20):
And so our Trivet Terrace, which is our tea room,
where we sell and serve multipleDevonshire teas.
There's now quite a number ofteapots that people can buy that
are not new.
They're referred to as a stateor pre loved.
Kate (07:36):
What's the most impractical teapot you have?
Maurice (07:39):
Well, interestingly, a lot of people ask about that.
And it's one that has sixspouts.
Kate (07:45):
Six spouts?
Maurice (07:46):
Yes.
Kate (07:46):
How do you pour tea?
Maurice (07:48):
Right.
It is a reproduction one.
It goes back to about the 1960s.
You know, it's an interestingthing in the West, the lady
normally pours the tea, but inthe east, like at an elegant tea
partaking the man pours the teaand tea is made in a pot and
then poured into a jug so thatthe host, is not giving one
(08:13):
guest a weaker cup and anotherguest, a stronger cup.
They get all the tea at the samestrength, which is, like a,
almost a uplift and humble wayof looking at it.
Whereas we pour, we normally saywho wants weak?
Who wants strong?
And the weak one gets theirsfirst.
And the strong one, we leave thepot for a bit later.
Kate (08:34):
And that's because the tea has longer to to brew in the tea
pot.
Yes.
Maurice (08:38):
Yes.
Well, like so many variations inteapot, that one with the
spouts, the multiple spouts,apparently it sat on a platform
and the six handless cups, causethey don't have handles, they
were positioned in such a waythat when the pot was poured, it
went equally into each six cup.
So a bit like a lunar parkarrangement.
Kate (09:01):
Right, but that means you'd have six very weak cups of
tea.
Is that correct?
Maurice (09:04):
Well, it depends.
If you let the tea brew, you'dhave six very strong cups,
right?
But whatever it was, the peoplethat were receiving it received
it equally.
There was no weak or strong, andof course weak has certain
connotations and strong hasequal but very opposite
connotations.
Kate (09:25):
So it's a very democratic teapot.
Maurice (09:27):
Oh yes, I'd say so.
Kate (09:29):
It's the people's teapot.
Maurice (09:30):
Yes, that's correct.
Kate (09:32):
So a side note, Maurice got back to me after further
research of this teapot, and itturns out its backstory is
contested.
Another version claims that theteapot is designed to avoid
embarrassment to any guest.
The Chinese believe that topoint the spout at a single
person is an insult to them.
So if all the guests have aspout pointed at them, it is no
(09:54):
longer an insult.
Or, maybe all the guests areequally as insulted.
A similar theory is to fill thecup means you want the person to
leave, whereas half fillingmeans that there is more to come
and you are welcome to stay.
So I'll let you ponder themysterious provenance of this
seven spouted teapot What's themost expensive teapot that you
(10:16):
own?
Maurice (10:16):
Now the best answer that I can give to that is that
I was playing bridge one nightand somebody asked me that
question, and another lady whoknew me far better said, Well,
they're worthless because you'renever going to sell them.
I never elaborate on what is themost expensive, mainly because
of security, but I'll give you alittle bit of an in regards to
(10:39):
that.
They're made of different metalsright from urbanware, right up
to sterling silver with goldembellishments and what have
you.
So, throughout our life preciousmetals have always been valued
more, but those of us who trulylove things, some of the
decorative arts are far moresuperior.
So in a roundabout way, what I'mtrying to say is the value is in
(11:01):
the eye the beholder.
Roughly, my dearest teapot, Ithink conservatively would be
worth about maybe 17,000.
And my cheap is probably, youpick it up in the Sally's or
Vinny's, for a dollar.
Kate (11:16):
Tell me about the tradition of a tea room and high
tea.
Maurice (11:20):
Well, it's a bit of an anomaly because you see high tea
was really for the middle class,right?
And it was quite often made upof leftovers.
So you might have things likeshepherd's pie, bread and butter
pudding, a cake that had beenmade a few days ago.
Kate (11:40):
This isn't the high tea that I'm familiar with.
Maurice (11:42):
No, that's cuz you're so young.
So, We used to advertisetraditional afternoon tea, and
every phone call without failwould say, but it is a high tea,
isn't it?
So eventually I just gave in.
But a traditional afternoon tea,of course, is made up of all
freshly prepared items.
(12:03):
Predominantly for what wasreferred to as the upper class.
Kate (12:06):
So traditional high tea is slops for the middle class,
traditional afternoon tea,however, is for the upper
classes-not necessarily the richbut the upwardly mobile educated
sect of society.
Maurice (12:19):
and so we refer to our traditional high tea as a
copycat of traditional afternoontea and a high tea, but all our
food is fresh that we serve,and, we put a bit of theater
into ours.
Kate (12:34):
Oh?
Maurice (12:35):
Yes, the waiters wear top hat and tails, white gloves,
and it comes individually toyour table, and you can see we
use fine bone China of differentperiods.
We use what is referred to assilver service.
But of course it's silver plateand the one that I've chosen is
Du Barry by Paramount, which wasan Australian silversmith.
(12:58):
And it's it's purely from the1960s, but it reflects with a
Georgian style.
Okay, so Pre-Victorian.
And anyway, the trolley arrivesand by wifi we play'To the Land
of Hope and Glory', and it's gotthe flags flying.
Kate (13:14):
This is very theatrical.
Maurice (13:16):
Oh yes, yes it is.
It sets the stage for a veryenjoyable afternoon tea.
Kate (13:22):
Tea Cozies, what are your thoughts?
Yes or no?
Maurice (13:26):
Well, I've got four local ladies who make them for
us and I think they're sotalented.
And I love them.
And people that make tea, theyquite often like to keep the tea
and the pot warm, and byradiation, the heat out of the
teapot will disperse.
And the tea cozy, especially onethat we've got, I call it the
(13:48):
Crinolin Lady and how she it,but this one's a knitted one,
some of them are crocheted andit creates like little air
pockets.
So it actually holds the heatRather than dispersing it.
So, it has a purpose, but ofcourse with a tea cozy, the
pot's lovely and warm and theconversation's gone on.
(14:09):
So you can lift the tea, cozy,lift the lid, and recharge the
pot and put tea cozy back.
Kate (14:15):
Yeah, it's the perfect accessory.
Maurice (14:18):
Yeah, I think it's a great accessory.
Kate (14:20):
Do you warm up the teapot with boiling water before you
serve the tea?
Maurice (14:25):
Well, of course it will depend whether you are making
black tea or green tea, cuz bothof them are prepared at
different temperatures.
with black tea, I always thinkit's recommended.
See a lot of people like theirtea very hot.
If you're going to just put tealeaves into a cold pot and then
put the boiling water in, cuz itshould be boiling, then
(14:46):
obviously by heat dispersioninto the cold vessel, you're
going to end up with a coldercup.
And we live here in themountains, have lived up here
for 47 years, and I can assureyou, before we had all the
modern things of airconditioning and central heating
and all that, we would put ourtea cups into the oven.
Kate (15:06):
Into the oven to warm them up?
Maurice (15:08):
You would be so cold in the kitchen, you know, even with
the fuel stove going, thekitchen itself, you'd get the
China in those days often theChina was in, in a cold
cupboard, and you'd just get itout.
You'd, you wouldn't have bakedthem in the oven.
Yeah, but you'd open the ovendoor cause it was a fuel stove
and you'd shove the cups in andthen you'd make your tea and
(15:28):
then you'd bring your cups out,being careful that they hadn't
got too hot and you'd have alovely hot cup.
Kate (15:34):
So it really depends on what type of tea you're drinking
to how you prepare it, and atwhat temperature.
Maurice (15:39):
We do have 30 different varieties of tea on our menu and
some of those have to beprepared at different
temperatures, especially likethe green tea.
If you've ever had green tea andfound it bitter, it's because
people have made it with boilingwater.
It needs to be made at perhapswashing hand temperature.
So about 68 to 70 degrees, andthat's why we have kettles now
(16:03):
that you can adjust.
At that temperature green tea isalways sweet.
If you're in a Chineserestaurant and you serve tea,
some people say it's cold, butit's not cold.
It's the right temperature.
It's perfect temperature forgreen tea.
It's the perfect temperature,and the tea itself is very
sweet.
Kate (16:19):
So what makes a good teapot?
Are there certain teapots thatare good for herbal tea and ones
that are good for black tea, orare all teapots universal for
all the tea types?
Maurice (16:28):
I think it gets down to personal taste.
I have a dinner guest whorefuses me to use a teapot that
is past 1830.
Now I'd call that a bitsnobbish.
But nevertheless, I try toprovide that for them cuz to be
a reasonable host, you should atleast do that.
Now, a lot of people say thatthe best teapot of the lot are
(16:50):
the old brown bettys, which werepredominantly urbanware.
Now I tend to agree with that abit because I had an Irish
grandmother.
So, I leave it to personaltaste.
Kate (17:01):
So, Maurice, your name is Maurice Cooper OAM...
is the OAM for services toteapots?
Maurice (17:08):
No, it's not.
I don't think it got a mention.
Oh, really?
No.
Look, I got that, but my partnershould have got that as well.
It's just how things are done,isn't it?
And I got that for my servicesto this community.
My partner is Kerry and Kerryand I have, devoted is the
correct word, devoted a goodpart of our life to the
(17:30):
community, and we've donevariable things.
Anyway, collectively it was thebiggest highlight of my life
from a public point of view.
Kate (17:39):
Oh, good on you both.
Congratulations for that.
Maurice (17:41):
He should have got one but anyway, that's how that
goes..
Kate (17:44):
Maurice So should we go and look at some teapots?
Maurice (17:46):
Yes, I'd be delighted, Kate, if you come and have a
look at some of my teapots.
Kate (17:53):
What's this one?
It says musical tea.
Maurice (17:54):
Oh yes.
This one's fascinating.
This one's the wedding one.
Okay.
It's the wedding march.
They're mechanical.
Kate (18:06):
Wow.
And the tea's in there.
Maurice (18:10):
Yes.
It's contained in there in apacket like that all sealed.
And they're celebration teas.
So all of those are black.
And we identify our teas asblack, caffeine free and green.
Kate (18:26):
Tea tip number one, don't buy tea that's wrapped in
cellophane or clear materials sothat you can see the tea leaves.
Tea is supposed to be kept in adark place like a tea caddy.
We enter the museum section ofthe building and it's full of
glass display cabinets, whichare filled with obviously
teapots.
The first cabinet on the leftstarts your teapot journey with
(18:48):
Anglo-Saxon teapots, and then wemove our way through the
multicultural teapots.
Maurice (18:53):
And I always thought the English drank the most tea,
but per population, the Irishdid.
Kate (18:58):
Is it the Irish?
Maurice (18:59):
It's the Irish that did, yeah.
And of course some of thosestatistics change from year to
year and but
Kate (19:06):
So I tried to fact check this, but it really does depend
on the year.
According to statista.com,Ireland has the second largest
tea consumption in 2016 at 2.2kilograms per capita.
However, that is second only toTurkey at 3.1 kilograms per
capita.
And England does take the bronzein global tea consumption that
(19:27):
year.
Maurice (19:28):
you can see there's really beautiful teapots.
Look at this one.
This is a Victorian we've gothere date unknown.
That's because we haven'tactually found the date.
But you can just see by thebusyness of it.
Some of these are done purely bytransfers.
Some of them are hand painted.
Kate (19:45):
Oh, wow.
But they all look the same.
Maurice (19:47):
Oh, they've got different motivations.
This one is a hand paintedscene.
This one is, a decal or atransfer.
Kate (19:55):
So these two teapots are both from the 1940s and look
like teapot siblings, except oneis a decal and one is hand
painted.
Both scenes look like a picturefrom different months of the
English thatched cottage"calendar and have gold rims
around the painting.
Maurice (20:11):
And you can see that one back there.
All that handle was handpainted.
So there's lots of differentthings that we are looking at
addressing.
I just hope I have a bit moretime to achieve some of these
things.
But that's that's one that a lotof people are intrigued with.
Kate (20:27):
The next teapot we inspect is incredible.
It's made of jade, so the coloris light green and almost
translucent.
The body of the teapot is arooster crowing.
The handle is the rooster'scurled tail around its behind,
and the tea spout is therooster's elongated neck,
releasing a crow.
Maurice (20:47):
That's Jade.
And we know a bit about theprovinence because I purchased
that in Adelaide.
It came from Hong Kong and itwas the repayment of a debt in
1908.
But yeah, it was a gambling debttoo.
The lady that I bought it from,it was her great aunt that gave
it to her, and her father was asailor, and was gambling in Hong
(21:12):
Kong and the boat had to leaveand this man owed him money and
he obviously was honorable.
He said, I don't have the money,but this is worth the debt.
And the man accepted it and cameback to South Australia.
And when I arrived they saidthat they would never sell it.
And as is my case, I asked them,but who will it go to next?
(21:34):
And they told me they really hadno one for it to go to.
So I was there nearly an hourenjoying their hospitality.
Kate (21:41):
But alas! Maurice did leave with the teapot,
Maurice (21:44):
and I think they enjoyed the amount of money that
I got.
Kate (21:48):
Now we arrive at the unique cabinet.
Maurice (21:50):
And this comes to my unique one.
Kate (21:53):
So this is where your favorite teapot is?
Maurice (21:54):
Yes.
And you can see it is a bit ofan ugly duckling, isn't it?
Kate (21:58):
It's beautiful in a unique way.
Maurice (22:00):
Yes, it is.
It's a very small pottery inJapan.
Kate (22:04):
This is Maurice's favorite teapot he mentioned before.
It looks very handmade.
It's small and brown with whitegeese flying on it, and flowers
hand painted in the background.
Maurice (22:14):
And this one I had a secretary for 36 years and you
know, I get teapots forbirthdays, Christmas
anniversaries or whatever.
And then one on my desk was alittle parcel.
And I undid the know, thepackage and it was a teapot.
And this is Morris Tetley.
Now my name's spelled the FrenchWay.
(22:36):
That's spelled the English Way.
And this was a celebration oftetley tea in the nineties.
And I said, why even the glassesare similar.
And you know what she responded?
She said in the figure as well.
I've lost a bit of weight sincethen.
I used to be quite, quite afixed set person.
Now this is a very interestingteapot.
(22:57):
You can immediately recognize itas Essexware.
It was Australian, it was madehere in Leura.
It was a couple who came fromEssex and they created a kiln up
in the rather posh part of Leuraand it was very successful.
They made lots of things.
Remembering it was the 1950s andsixties and it was predominantly
(23:19):
ashtrays cuz a lot of peoplesmoked and it was little like
souvenir dish, what we call pindish and little mini vases.
And then of course there werelike little trios like this.
Kate (23:33):
Hot tea tip number two, more like an op shopping tip-
when you're checking out ceramicteapots in op shops, because I
know that you do, if you turn itupside down and see that
Essexware Leura is inscribed onthe bottom, buy it immediately.
Not only are they beyondbeautiful and functional, they
may be worth a pretty pennytoday.
Maurice (23:53):
You're too young to know Kate, but this is an
identical replica of theannodized tea sets, you know, in
pinks and greens.
And, you'd see them aroundNewtown now, very collectible.
Kate (24:05):
In the same cabinet, there's a short, beautiful,
cylindrical clay teapot withAboriginal motifs on it,
including a fish and someintricate patterns around the
lid.
Maurice (24:15):
And this man from Arnhem Land, First Nation man,
he did all these designs and hedid this to celebrate his
parents' 25th weddinganniversary.
Asked them if he could make thatbeautiful and collection, I've
got it in night collection.
So I'm very excited.
And look, here's onecommemorating the centenery of
(24:35):
the crossing of the bluemountains.
Kate (24:37):
Oh, so it's Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson on a
teapot.
Maurice (24:41):
Yes.
And of course they crossed inMay, 1813.
Now we've had the bicentenary.
And oh, yes, this is souvenirware.
I like this.
This was for the tea totallers,you know, not to have any drink.
You know where that comes from.
Teatotollars, you know?
Kate (24:57):
Oh, the word.
Maurice (24:58):
Well, they drank totally tea.
They didn't have any beer.
The most common drink in Englandwas beer because, water could be
infected and all that sort ofthing.
Kate (25:07):
So get that- a teatotaller was somebody who drank totally
tea, no alcohol!
Maurice (25:13):
And this one here, the Independent Order of Rechabites.
And I've got a full tea set inthat.
If I get something, I don'tbelieve in divorce, so if I get
something I pack it all up,we've got an area upstairs as
big as this, not open to thepublic.
So that's where the sets go withthat.
Kate (25:31):
And now we move onto the animals and characters cabinet.
Maurice (25:35):
And course these are gorgeous.
I'm very fond of these.
I try to put these ones down, sothe kids can see the little
clowns and what have you.
This is one of my favorites.
I got this many, many years agoat the Rozelle markets in
Sydney.
And I feature that on a lot ofour advertising and when people
come in, they want to see thatteapot.
(25:57):
It's obviously a little doggyand I love dogs, so it is
prominent.
You know, you have to remember,I spent a great deal of my life
here, so I'm a bit selfish as towhat I do with things you see.
And then there's these littleones.
Kate (26:11):
Also in the cabinet are miniature tea sets.
The teapots are about the sizeof a thimble.
Do people actually drink tea outof these?
Maurice (26:19):
Oh, well this was for children to learn how to have a
little tea party.
So all these are miniatures.
I feel that the Brown Bettysneed to be acknowledged.
Kate (26:28):
The Brown Betty is a type of red clay teapot that became
very popular in the Victorianera.
They are instantly recognizableby their brown glaze and very
round body, which allows theleaves more freedom to swirl
around as water is poured,releasing more flavor with less
bitterness.
They are still much loved today,and you can find them in op
(26:49):
shops.
Maurice (26:50):
Some of may have been very fortunate to have lived up
in a household that had Chinaand all that, but I certainly
came from a background whereBrown Betty and I love this one,
I found this one up at TweedHeads.
I used to use that in my teapottalks.
And you know, this would be avery expensive teapot because
(27:11):
all that's hand worked.
It's all hallmarked and youknow, And I just keep it here
with the Brown Bettys, you know?
So, but I like anything likethat.
Kate (27:20):
There's a cabinet of character teapots.
For example, a Royal Daltonpoliceman and felon with an
English cop on one side and abank robber in bank robber
uniform that is black and whitestrap shirt with a black mask on
the other side.
There's also a Long John Silverteapot with the pirate character
from Robert Louis Stevenson'sTreasure Island.
Maurice (27:40):
Some of these aren't that old.
They're a little bit, novel.
I quite like them cops.
I mean, some of these go rightback, yeah, it's just what grabs
you.
I think they're all different.
They're all unique.
One of my young fellows wasquite good on Facebook and
everything.
And he put this on, You couldn'tbelieve how many people followed
(28:01):
it, like, to me this is nothing.
Anyway, it went, what do theycall it?
Viral.
It went viral.
I said, Oh, you can pick whichones you put on now.
But if something comes in out ofDr.
Who or Star Wars or something,they write in.
Kate (28:16):
The teapot that went viral is a cute one with a painting of
Mother Rabbit putting a childrabbit to bed.
It looks straight out of aBeatrix Potter book.
Maurice (28:25):
But see things like, this is what get me.
Now this is the one that LordWedgwood.
Kate (28:30):
So the Wedgewood company was started by the English
Potter, Josiah Wedwood in 1759.
He revolutionized certain formsof pottery, including green
glaze, black basalt, andJasperware.
The company still exists todayand is especially known for
unglazed stoneware calledJasperware in contrasting
colors, especially a pale shadeof blue that's known as
(28:52):
Wedgewood blue.
Maurice (28:54):
That goes back the 1690s.
Yeah.
And see this is what he becameknown for.
But I tell you something Ilearned from teapots, so I'm
looking up.
I did You know, Evolution ofSpecies and Darwin, Origin of
Species, and Charles Darwin, andI was reading up about a
Wedgewood tea palette.
Do you know who Charles Darwin'smother was?
Kate (29:17):
No.
Maurice (29:17):
Louisa Wedgewood.
Kate (29:19):
Really?
Maurice (29:19):
Okay.
And she married Charles' father,and that's how they could
afford, he came through here,you know?
Kate (29:26):
He did.
Yeah.
Maurice (29:27):
And that's how he could afford to do all that, you know,
from probably
Kate (29:31):
the teapot fame.
Maurice (29:32):
Yeah, the teapot fame.
Kate (29:33):
So side note, Josiah Wedgwood married his third
cousin Sarah, and had eightchildren.
Their first born Susanna, notLouisa, married Robert Darwin
and indeed became the mother ofCharles Darwin, who also kept it
in the family by marrying hiscousin Emma Wedgwood.
Maurice (29:51):
Yeah.
So you learn a lot.
And so hidden in amongst allthose, the sterling silver ones,
I've got them all.
You know, Sterling silver thebest is Russian.
But the 935 part s in a thousandsilver, so very soft, and then
the English standard is 9 25.
Kate (30:08):
Hot tea tape number three.
If you're going to buy yourself
Maurice (30:11):
the English because of, European is 800.
Orient is 600, and that's aMexican one at 450.
Anyway, years ago, a teapot likethis.
I'm not joking, you know,$800people would pay for it.
And things have sort of settleddown, but because these are so
(30:31):
unique, and they truly are,they'd be worth a lot of money
when we're talking about howmuch.
But I'm not interested inselling them.
I just want people to admirethem and I particularly want
people to identify how periodshave changed.
This is a lot of this isreferred to as Mourning Teapots,
(30:52):
M O U R N I N G,
Kate (30:55):
Morning teapots are very rare.
The trend of mourning teapotsstarted when Prince Albert died
in 1860.
Maurice (31:01):
Because Queen Victoria, you know, they say her and
Albert's was a true love matchand she ebonized everything and
she wore black from the day hedied.
You might be aware that if youwere over 40, you were expected
to wear black for two years andthen purple for the next year,
right?
(31:21):
If you are under 40, you onlyhad to wear black for a year and
purple for six months.
Kate (31:28):
That's right.
Writer Patricia Lundy in heressay"Mourning and Tea: how the
Victorians found IdentityThrough Grief" says that wealthy
widows would be outfitted in amonochromatic wardrobe of raven,
drab clothes known as"widowsweeds" for the first year of
mourning.
But poor women would have to dyeone of their existing dresses
(31:48):
black, lest they be seen to notmourn properly, which would
render their marriageeffectively invalid in the eyes
of the community.
Maurice (31:57):
And that was because no decent gentleman would ask a
lady that was in black to go fora ride in the park, so that they
could get to know each otheruntil she was out of that.
And you know, when you seeroyalty at things like ANZAC and
everything, do you notice theyalways wear purple?
Well, you will now.
I will.
Yeah.
You'll pick up on it.
Kate (32:18):
So a royal in black, swipe left.
A royal in purple, okay to date.
Now you can watch The Crown witha renewed sense of interest in
their wardrobe choices.
Maurice, thank you so much forcoming on the podcast today.
Maurice (32:31):
It's been a pleasure, Kate, and uh, I hope I haven't
bored them too much.
Kate (32:39):
The museum is kid friendly and has animated and miniature
teapots on lower displays.
During school holidays, themuseum is open seven days a week
except public holidays.
Outside of school holidays, itis open five days a week except
public holidays.
The tea rooms are open from10:00 AM with last orders at
5:00 PM before closing at 5:30.
(33:00):
The admission fee for the museumis$5 50, which is refunded on
purchases over$5 50.
The museum has a number ofaccessibility features such as
accessible unisex toilets, aself-closing and automatic lift,
and disabled parking.
There's no steps within themuseum or tea rooms.
(33:20):
How incredible is that?
I truly didn't realize there wasso much to know about Tea and
teapots until talking withMorris.
Now I'm off to pour myself awarm cup of Jasmine Green Tea.
Thanks for listening to Roadshowand Tell.
If you enjoyed this deep diveinto a specialty museum, make
(33:42):
sure you subscribe so you don'tmiss an episode.
We're a new podcast.
So if you wanna help support us,please share it with a friend
and leave a rating and review.
If you are involved with or knowof a regional or specialty
museum that should be featured,please get in touch at
roadshowandtell@gmail.com.
I'm your host, Kate.
(34:05):
Roadshow and Tell was edited andproduced on the lands of the
Gadigal people.
I acknowledge the TraditionalCustodians of the various lands
on which you may be listeningfrom, and the lands that the
museums featured in this podcastreside on.
I also acknowledge anyAboriginal or Torres Strait
Islander people listening tothis podcast.
I pay my respects to elderspast, present, and emerging, and
(34:29):
celebrate the diversity ofAboriginal peoples and their
ongoing cultures and connectionsto the lands and waters of
Australia.
I live for the day that I can stop myself from buying
Teapots,$800 people would payfor it.
Kate (00:08):
Is the OAM for services to Teapots?
Welcome to Roadshow and Tell, apodcast for people hoping to
improve their pub trivia teamscore.
I'm your host, Kate, and I'llvisit museums so you can learn
things you never knew you wantedto.
(00:34):
Settle in and pour yourself acup of Rosy Lee-that's rhyming
slang for tea.
In this episode, we're visitinga teapot museum and tea rooms in
the town of Leura.
Leura is a small town in theBlue Mountains, nearly two hours
west of Sydney.
I chat to Maurice, the owner,about all things tea, including
the difference betweentraditional high tea and
(00:56):
afternoon tea, how to spot agood op shop teapot, and what
his favorite teapot is.
Plus we take a stroll throughthe museum, which displays
teapots of all shapes and sizes,including teapots shaped like
little old ladies, a nest ofchicks, Peter Rabbit, Master
Piggy, a Harrod's gift basket,an English cottage, pinup model
(01:17):
Suzy Cooper, the Tardis,Sylvester the cat, Humpty
Dumpty, the Sphynx, and awatermelon slice.
So today I'm at Bygone Beauty'sTreasured Teapot Museum and Tea
Rooms with Maurice Cooper OAM.
Good morning, Maurice.
Maurice (01:35):
Good morning young Kate
Kate (01:36):
and Maurice, whose land are we on today?
Maurice (01:38):
We're we're on the Dharug and Gundagurra First
Nation land.
Kate (01:43):
So this is a teapot museum and tea rooms, is that correct?
Maurice (01:46):
That's quite correct.
And we're in our 30th year inthis building.
Kate (01:50):
And how did Bygone Beauties come to be?
Maurice (01:53):
Ron who started the collection, I came into it when
there was 58 teapots.
So I did not start thecollection, but I think Ron
would agree that I was the onethat had the passion for the
teapots, and I've had manycollections myself.
I started collecting silverplate when I was about eight
(02:13):
years of age.
I just had a fascination forthat.
But I've had some extensivecollections.
Obviously the silver plate movedto sterling silver and all the
different variables of thatthroughout the world, and I
still have quite a goodcollection of that.
But back to the teapots.
So I was looking to retire.
(02:33):
Around about 45.
And as you can see, I'm stillhere, and I won't see 75 again.
So I I bought this building,which had been a restaurant and
it seemed to be a good building.
But of course I lacked knowledgeof retail.
I was in entirely differentarena.
And the long and the short isthat I found very quickly that
(02:57):
position is everything.
And so I said to Ron, Why don'twe put the teapots up on
display?
And because we're involved withtwo other shops in the
mountains, we gave littlevouchers for people if they
purchased anything, to come hereand have a cup of tea and look
at the teapot collection.
Kate (03:16):
And at this stage it was just 55 teapots, you said?
Maurice (03:19):
No, no.
By this stage we had the grandsum of 300.
300.
That was a lot.
And of course, this building is,has been extensively both
renovated and extended.
Kate (03:31):
There are over 12,000 teapots in the museum's
collection, but not all arehoused in the building.
There are over 8,000 teapotscurrently on display in the
building at any given time, plusmore stock for sale in the
museum store.
Can you imagine doing a stocktake on that?
Maurice (03:48):
Well, believe it or not, I remember once when we
advertised that we had 5,000,somebody spent some time and
came back and said, I can onlysee 4,700.
I couldn't believe that theycounted them.
And but then I was able to openall the drawer, underneath the
display cabinets and say tothem, Well, these are the
teapots we haven't researchedyet.
Kate (04:09):
So Maurice's collection process requires that incoming
teapots be researched andcataloged before entering the
display.
Some of the teapots for sale areoriginal and some are
duplicates, meaning replicas.
Maurice (04:22):
And if I could be so bold to say, perhaps ones that I
consider are not quite museum.
And indeed, many curators ofother museum would just see them
as as objects rather than anitem of museum quality.
But I like nothing better thansomebody will come in and say, I
(04:44):
remember that one.
My nan had that one.
And, I'm sure it gives themdelight, but it gives me a great
deal of delight.
Cause a lot of people have theircollections packed up.
No one sees them, but mine arereadily seen.
Kate (04:57):
Yeah.
I love these ones on displayhere.
So you think some people mightcall them filler teapots?
But you see beauty in all ofthem.
Maurice (05:04):
Oh, I do, I do.
In fact, people sometimes ask meabout my favorite teapot.
Kate (05:10):
That was a question I had.
Yes.
Do you have a favorite?
Maurice (05:13):
Well I do, of course I favour many, but there is one.
My dad who had an engineeringbackground, he knew very little
about teapots and he lives in,lived in Adelaide.
And in readiness for my visits,he would go around and find
different teapots at differentshops If he found a teapot, the
shopkeepers got to know him and,he'd find the teapot and then
(05:37):
he'd move a vase in front of it.
Or he'd move a clock or afigurine so that other customers
wouldn't perhaps catch theteapot.
And he often would say to methey don't have a clue.
But of course he didn't have aclue about teapots.
He was a very intelligent cove.
And anyway, one day he did findit particularly interesting
(05:58):
teapot, not what most peoplewould call attractive, and in
fact, it had ducks flying on it.
It's a very unusual teapot.
And although it's an uglyduckling, I refer to it as my
favorite because my dad found.
Kate (06:13):
What a sweet story.
We will visit this teapot laterin the unique cabinet of the
museum.
Let's circle back to how you gotinto teapots.
So your co-founder, he had theteapots, and then you had the
passion.
So how did your passion forTeapots come about?
Maurice (06:30):
My passion for the teapots was that I thought I
might as well love this asanything.
And so I've devoted a lot of mytime and effort and as I've
said, as the years have gone by,I mean, I was in my late
fifties, Early sixties when Irealized that the teapots were
worthy of preservation.
I live for the day that I canmyself from buying Teapots, and
(06:54):
devote some money to a programwhere every teapots numbered.
Kate (06:59):
So people collect teapots in different ways.
Sometimes small collectors of 80teapots may only have one of
significance, but you have topurchase the whole collection.
Maurice will often buycollections that include
duplicate teapots of ones healready owns, so he can sell it
cheaply to another collector orsomeone who wants to buy a good
teapot at a reasonable price.
Maurice (07:20):
And so our Trivet Terrace, which is our tea room,
where we sell and serve multipleDevonshire teas.
There's now quite a number ofteapots that people can buy that
are not new.
They're referred to as a stateor pre loved.
Kate (07:36):
What's the most impractical teapot you have?
Maurice (07:39):
Well, interestingly, a lot of people ask about that.
And it's one that has sixspouts.
Kate (07:45):
Six spouts?
Maurice (07:46):
Yes.
Kate (07:46):
How do you pour tea?
Maurice (07:48):
Right.
It is a reproduction one.
It goes back to about the 1960s.
You know, it's an interestingthing in the West, the lady
normally pours the tea, but inthe east, like at an elegant tea
partaking the man pours the teaand tea is made in a pot and
then poured into a jug so thatthe host, is not giving one
(08:13):
guest a weaker cup and anotherguest, a stronger cup.
They get all the tea at the samestrength, which is, like a,
almost a uplift and humble wayof looking at it.
Whereas we pour, we normally saywho wants weak?
Who wants strong?
And the weak one gets theirsfirst.
And the strong one, we leave thepot for a bit later.
Kate (08:34):
And that's because the tea has longer to to brew in the tea
pot.
Yes.
Maurice (08:38):
Yes.
Well, like so many variations inteapot, that one with the
spouts, the multiple spouts,apparently it sat on a platform
and the six handless cups, causethey don't have handles, they
were positioned in such a waythat when the pot was poured, it
went equally into each six cup.
So a bit like a lunar parkarrangement.
Kate (09:01):
Right, but that means you'd have six very weak cups of
tea.
Is that correct?
Maurice (09:04):
Well, it depends.
If you let the tea brew, you'dhave six very strong cups,
right?
But whatever it was, the peoplethat were receiving it received
it equally.
There was no weak or strong, andof course weak has certain
connotations and strong hasequal but very opposite
connotations.
Kate (09:25):
So it's a very democratic teapot.
Maurice (09:27):
Oh yes, I'd say so.
Kate (09:29):
It's the people's teapot.
Maurice (09:30):
Yes, that's correct.
Kate (09:32):
So a side note, Maurice got back to me after further
research of this teapot, and itturns out its backstory is
contested.
Another version claims that theteapot is designed to avoid
embarrassment to any guest.
The Chinese believe that topoint the spout at a single
person is an insult to them.
So if all the guests have aspout pointed at them, it is no
(09:54):
longer an insult.
Or, maybe all the guests areequally as insulted.
A similar theory is to fill thecup means you want the person to
leave, whereas half fillingmeans that there is more to come
and you are welcome to stay.
So I'll let you ponder themysterious provenance of this
seven spouted teapot What's themost expensive teapot that you
(10:16):
own?
Maurice (10:16):
Now the best answer that I can give to that is that
I was playing bridge one nightand somebody asked me that
question, and another lady whoknew me far better said, Well,
they're worthless because you'renever going to sell them.
I never elaborate on what is themost expensive, mainly because
of security, but I'll give you alittle bit of an in regards to
(10:39):
that.
They're made of different metalsright from urbanware, right up
to sterling silver with goldembellishments and what have
you.
So, throughout our life preciousmetals have always been valued
more, but those of us who trulylove things, some of the
decorative arts are far moresuperior.
So in a roundabout way, what I'mtrying to say is the value is in
(11:01):
the eye the beholder.
Roughly, my dearest teapot, Ithink conservatively would be
worth about maybe 17,000.
And my cheap is probably, youpick it up in the Sally's or
Vinny's, for a dollar.
Kate (11:16):
Tell me about the tradition of a tea room and high
tea.
Maurice (11:20):
Well, it's a bit of an anomaly because you see high tea
was really for the middle class,right?
And it was quite often made upof leftovers.
So you might have things likeshepherd's pie, bread and butter
pudding, a cake that had beenmade a few days ago.
Kate (11:40):
This isn't the high tea that I'm familiar with.
Maurice (11:42):
No, that's cuz you're so young.
So, We used to advertisetraditional afternoon tea, and
every phone call without failwould say, but it is a high tea,
isn't it?
So eventually I just gave in.
But a traditional afternoon tea,of course, is made up of all
freshly prepared items.
(12:03):
Predominantly for what wasreferred to as the upper class.
Kate (12:06):
So traditional high tea is slops for the middle class,
traditional afternoon tea,however, is for the upper
classes-not necessarily the richbut the upwardly mobile educated
sect of society.
Maurice (12:19):
and so we refer to our traditional high tea as a
copycat of traditional afternoontea and a high tea, but all our
food is fresh that we serve,and, we put a bit of theater
into ours.
Kate (12:34):
Oh?
Maurice (12:35):
Yes, the waiters wear top hat and tails, white gloves,
and it comes individually toyour table, and you can see we
use fine bone China of differentperiods.
We use what is referred to assilver service.
But of course it's silver plateand the one that I've chosen is
Du Barry by Paramount, which wasan Australian silversmith.
(12:58):
And it's it's purely from the1960s, but it reflects with a
Georgian style.
Okay, so Pre-Victorian.
And anyway, the trolley arrivesand by wifi we play'To the Land
of Hope and Glory', and it's gotthe flags flying.
Kate (13:14):
This is very theatrical.
Maurice (13:16):
Oh yes, yes it is.
It sets the stage for a veryenjoyable afternoon tea.
Kate (13:22):
Tea Cozies, what are your thoughts?
Yes or no?
Maurice (13:26):
Well, I've got four local ladies who make them for
us and I think they're sotalented.
And I love them.
And people that make tea, theyquite often like to keep the tea
and the pot warm, and byradiation, the heat out of the
teapot will disperse.
And the tea cozy, especially onethat we've got, I call it the
(13:48):
Crinolin Lady and how she it,but this one's a knitted one,
some of them are crocheted andit creates like little air
pockets.
So it actually holds the heatRather than dispersing it.
So, it has a purpose, but ofcourse with a tea cozy, the
pot's lovely and warm and theconversation's gone on.
(14:09):
So you can lift the tea, cozy,lift the lid, and recharge the
pot and put tea cozy back.
Kate (14:15):
Yeah, it's the perfect accessory.
Maurice (14:18):
Yeah, I think it's a great accessory.
Kate (14:20):
Do you warm up the teapot with boiling water before you
serve the tea?
Maurice (14:25):
Well, of course it will depend whether you are making
black tea or green tea, cuz bothof them are prepared at
different temperatures.
with black tea, I always thinkit's recommended.
See a lot of people like theirtea very hot.
If you're going to just put tealeaves into a cold pot and then
put the boiling water in, cuz itshould be boiling, then
(14:46):
obviously by heat dispersioninto the cold vessel, you're
going to end up with a coldercup.
And we live here in themountains, have lived up here
for 47 years, and I can assureyou, before we had all the
modern things of airconditioning and central heating
and all that, we would put ourtea cups into the oven.
Kate (15:06):
Into the oven to warm them up?
Maurice (15:08):
You would be so cold in the kitchen, you know, even with
the fuel stove going, thekitchen itself, you'd get the
China in those days often theChina was in, in a cold
cupboard, and you'd just get itout.
You'd, you wouldn't have bakedthem in the oven.
Yeah, but you'd open the ovendoor cause it was a fuel stove
and you'd shove the cups in andthen you'd make your tea and
(15:28):
then you'd bring your cups out,being careful that they hadn't
got too hot and you'd have alovely hot cup.
Kate (15:34):
So it really depends on what type of tea you're drinking
to how you prepare it, and atwhat temperature.
Maurice (15:39):
We do have 30 different varieties of tea on our menu and
some of those have to beprepared at different
temperatures, especially likethe green tea.
If you've ever had green tea andfound it bitter, it's because
people have made it with boilingwater.
It needs to be made at perhapswashing hand temperature.
So about 68 to 70 degrees, andthat's why we have kettles now
(16:03):
that you can adjust.
At that temperature green tea isalways sweet.
If you're in a Chineserestaurant and you serve tea,
some people say it's cold, butit's not cold.
It's the right temperature.
It's perfect temperature forgreen tea.
It's the perfect temperature,and the tea itself is very
sweet.
Kate (16:19):
So what makes a good teapot?
Are there certain teapots thatare good for herbal tea and ones
that are good for black tea, orare all teapots universal for
all the tea types?
Maurice (16:28):
I think it gets down to personal taste.
I have a dinner guest whorefuses me to use a teapot that
is past 1830.
Now I'd call that a bitsnobbish.
But nevertheless, I try toprovide that for them cuz to be
a reasonable host, you should atleast do that.
Now, a lot of people say thatthe best teapot of the lot are
(16:50):
the old brown bettys, which werepredominantly urbanware.
Now I tend to agree with that abit because I had an Irish
grandmother.
So, I leave it to personaltaste.
Kate (17:01):
So, Maurice, your name is Maurice Cooper OAM...
is the OAM for services toteapots?
Maurice (17:08):
No, it's not.
I don't think it got a mention.
Oh, really?
No.
Look, I got that, but my partnershould have got that as well.
It's just how things are done,isn't it?
And I got that for my servicesto this community.
My partner is Kerry and Kerryand I have, devoted is the
correct word, devoted a goodpart of our life to the
(17:30):
community, and we've donevariable things.
Anyway, collectively it was thebiggest highlight of my life
from a public point of view.
Kate (17:39):
Oh, good on you both.
Congratulations for that.
Maurice (17:41):
He should have got one but anyway, that's how that
goes..
Kate (17:44):
Maurice So should we go and look at some teapots?
Maurice (17:46):
Yes, I'd be delighted, Kate, if you come and have a
look at some of my teapots.
Kate (17:53):
What's this one?
It says musical tea.
Maurice (17:54):
Oh yes.
This one's fascinating.
This one's the wedding one.
Okay.
It's the wedding march.
They're mechanical.
Kate (18:06):
Wow.
And the tea's in there.
Maurice (18:10):
Yes.
It's contained in there in apacket like that all sealed.
And they're celebration teas.
So all of those are black.
And we identify our teas asblack, caffeine free and green.
Kate (18:26):
Tea tip number one, don't buy tea that's wrapped in
cellophane or clear materials sothat you can see the tea leaves.
Tea is supposed to be kept in adark place like a tea caddy.
We enter the museum section ofthe building and it's full of
glass display cabinets, whichare filled with obviously
teapots.
The first cabinet on the leftstarts your teapot journey with
(18:48):
Anglo-Saxon teapots, and then wemove our way through the
multicultural teapots.
Maurice (18:53):
And I always thought the English drank the most tea,
but per population, the Irishdid.
Kate (18:58):
Is it the Irish?
Maurice (18:59):
It's the Irish that did, yeah.
And of course some of thosestatistics change from year to
year and but
Kate (19:06):
So I tried to fact check this, but it really does depend
on the year.
According to statista.com,Ireland has the second largest
tea consumption in 2016 at 2.2kilograms per capita.
However, that is second only toTurkey at 3.1 kilograms per
capita.
And England does take the bronzein global tea consumption that
(19:27):
year.
Maurice (19:28):
you can see there's really beautiful teapots.
Look at this one.
This is a Victorian we've gothere date unknown.
That's because we haven'tactually found the date.
But you can just see by thebusyness of it.
Some of these are done purely bytransfers.
Some of them are hand painted.
Kate (19:45):
Oh, wow.
But they all look the same.
Maurice (19:47):
Oh, they've got different motivations.
This one is a hand paintedscene.
This one is, a decal or atransfer.
Kate (19:55):
So these two teapots are both from the 1940s and look
like teapot siblings, except oneis a decal and one is hand
painted.
Both scenes look like a picturefrom different months of the
English thatched cottage"calendar and have gold rims
around the painting.
Maurice (20:11):
And you can see that one back there.
All that handle was handpainted.
So there's lots of differentthings that we are looking at
addressing.
I just hope I have a bit moretime to achieve some of these
things.
But that's that's one that a lotof people are intrigued with.
Kate (20:27):
The next teapot we inspect is incredible.
It's made of jade, so the coloris light green and almost
translucent.
The body of the teapot is arooster crowing.
The handle is the rooster'scurled tail around its behind,
and the tea spout is therooster's elongated neck,
releasing a crow.
Maurice (20:47):
That's Jade.
And we know a bit about theprovinence because I purchased
that in Adelaide.
It came from Hong Kong and itwas the repayment of a debt in
1908.
But yeah, it was a gambling debttoo.
The lady that I bought it from,it was her great aunt that gave
it to her, and her father was asailor, and was gambling in Hong
(21:12):
Kong and the boat had to leaveand this man owed him money and
he obviously was honorable.
He said, I don't have the money,but this is worth the debt.
And the man accepted it and cameback to South Australia.
And when I arrived they saidthat they would never sell it.
And as is my case, I asked them,but who will it go to next?
(21:34):
And they told me they really hadno one for it to go to.
So I was there nearly an hourenjoying their hospitality.
Kate (21:41):
But alas! Maurice did leave with the teapot,
Maurice (21:44):
and I think they enjoyed the amount of money that
I got.
Kate (21:48):
Now we arrive at the unique cabinet.
Maurice (21:50):
And this comes to my unique one.
Kate (21:53):
So this is where your favorite teapot is?
Maurice (21:54):
Yes.
And you can see it is a bit ofan ugly duckling, isn't it?
Kate (21:58):
It's beautiful in a unique way.
Maurice (22:00):
Yes, it is.
It's a very small pottery inJapan.
Kate (22:04):
This is Maurice's favorite teapot he mentioned before.
It looks very handmade.
It's small and brown with whitegeese flying on it, and flowers
hand painted in the background.
Maurice (22:14):
And this one I had a secretary for 36 years and you
know, I get teapots forbirthdays, Christmas
anniversaries or whatever.
And then one on my desk was alittle parcel.
And I undid the know, thepackage and it was a teapot.
And this is Morris Tetley.
Now my name's spelled the FrenchWay.
(22:36):
That's spelled the English Way.
And this was a celebration oftetley tea in the nineties.
And I said, why even the glassesare similar.
And you know what she responded?
She said in the figure as well.
I've lost a bit of weight sincethen.
I used to be quite, quite afixed set person.
Now this is a very interestingteapot.
(22:57):
You can immediately recognize itas Essexware.
It was Australian, it was madehere in Leura.
It was a couple who came fromEssex and they created a kiln up
in the rather posh part of Leuraand it was very successful.
They made lots of things.
Remembering it was the 1950s andsixties and it was predominantly
(23:19):
ashtrays cuz a lot of peoplesmoked and it was little like
souvenir dish, what we call pindish and little mini vases.
And then of course there werelike little trios like this.
Kate (23:33):
Hot tea tip number two, more like an op shopping tip-
when you're checking out ceramicteapots in op shops, because I
know that you do, if you turn itupside down and see that
Essexware Leura is inscribed onthe bottom, buy it immediately.
Not only are they beyondbeautiful and functional, they
may be worth a pretty pennytoday.
Maurice (23:53):
You're too young to know Kate, but this is an
identical replica of theannodized tea sets, you know, in
pinks and greens.
And, you'd see them aroundNewtown now, very collectible.
Kate (24:05):
In the same cabinet, there's a short, beautiful,
cylindrical clay teapot withAboriginal motifs on it,
including a fish and someintricate patterns around the
lid.
Maurice (24:15):
And this man from Arnhem Land, First Nation man,
he did all these designs and hedid this to celebrate his
parents' 25th weddinganniversary.
Asked them if he could make thatbeautiful and collection, I've
got it in night collection.
So I'm very excited.
And look, here's onecommemorating the centenery of
(24:35):
the crossing of the bluemountains.
Kate (24:37):
Oh, so it's Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson on a
teapot.
Maurice (24:41):
Yes.
And of course they crossed inMay, 1813.
Now we've had the bicentenary.
And oh, yes, this is souvenirware.
I like this.
This was for the tea totallers,you know, not to have any drink.
You know where that comes from.
Teatotollars, you know?
Kate (24:57):
Oh, the word.
Maurice (24:58):
Well, they drank totally tea.
They didn't have any beer.
The most common drink in Englandwas beer because, water could be
infected and all that sort ofthing.
Kate (25:07):
So get that- a teatotaller was somebody who drank totally
tea, no alcohol!
Maurice (25:13):
And this one here, the Independent Order of Rechabites.
And I've got a full tea set inthat.
If I get something, I don'tbelieve in divorce, so if I get
something I pack it all up,we've got an area upstairs as
big as this, not open to thepublic.
So that's where the sets go withthat.
Kate (25:31):
And now we move onto the animals and characters cabinet.
Maurice (25:35):
And course these are gorgeous.
I'm very fond of these.
I try to put these ones down, sothe kids can see the little
clowns and what have you.
This is one of my favorites.
I got this many, many years agoat the Rozelle markets in
Sydney.
And I feature that on a lot ofour advertising and when people
come in, they want to see thatteapot.
(25:57):
It's obviously a little doggyand I love dogs, so it is
prominent.
You know, you have to remember,I spent a great deal of my life
here, so I'm a bit selfish as towhat I do with things you see.
And then there's these littleones.
Kate (26:11):
Also in the cabinet are miniature tea sets.
The teapots are about the sizeof a thimble.
Do people actually drink tea outof these?
Maurice (26:19):
Oh, well this was for children to learn how to have a
little tea party.
So all these are miniatures.
I feel that the Brown Bettysneed to be acknowledged.
Kate (26:28):
The Brown Betty is a type of red clay teapot that became
very popular in the Victorianera.
They are instantly recognizableby their brown glaze and very
round body, which allows theleaves more freedom to swirl
around as water is poured,releasing more flavor with less
bitterness.
They are still much loved today,and you can find them in op
(26:49):
shops.
Maurice (26:50):
Some of may have been very fortunate to have lived up
in a household that had Chinaand all that, but I certainly
came from a background whereBrown Betty and I love this one,
I found this one up at TweedHeads.
I used to use that in my teapottalks.
And you know, this would be avery expensive teapot because
(27:11):
all that's hand worked.
It's all hallmarked and youknow, And I just keep it here
with the Brown Bettys, you know?
So, but I like anything likethat.
Kate (27:20):
There's a cabinet of character teapots.
For example, a Royal Daltonpoliceman and felon with an
English cop on one side and abank robber in bank robber
uniform that is black and whitestrap shirt with a black mask on
the other side.
There's also a Long John Silverteapot with the pirate character
from Robert Louis Stevenson'sTreasure Island.
Maurice (27:40):
Some of these aren't that old.
They're a little bit, novel.
I quite like them cops.
I mean, some of these go rightback, yeah, it's just what grabs
you.
I think they're all different.
They're all unique.
One of my young fellows wasquite good on Facebook and
everything.
And he put this on, You couldn'tbelieve how many people followed
(28:01):
it, like, to me this is nothing.
Anyway, it went, what do theycall it?
Viral.
It went viral.
I said, Oh, you can pick whichones you put on now.
But if something comes in out ofDr.
Who or Star Wars or something,they write in.
Kate (28:16):
The teapot that went viral is a cute one with a painting of
Mother Rabbit putting a childrabbit to bed.
It looks straight out of aBeatrix Potter book.
Maurice (28:25):
But see things like, this is what get me.
Now this is the one that LordWedgwood.
Kate (28:30):
So the Wedgewood company was started by the English
Potter, Josiah Wedwood in 1759.
He revolutionized certain formsof pottery, including green
glaze, black basalt, andJasperware.
The company still exists todayand is especially known for
unglazed stoneware calledJasperware in contrasting
colors, especially a pale shadeof blue that's known as
(28:52):
Wedgewood blue.
Maurice (28:54):
That goes back the 1690s.
Yeah.
And see this is what he becameknown for.
But I tell you something Ilearned from teapots, so I'm
looking up.
I did You know, Evolution ofSpecies and Darwin, Origin of
Species, and Charles Darwin, andI was reading up about a
Wedgewood tea palette.
Do you know who Charles Darwin'smother was?
Kate (29:17):
No.
Maurice (29:17):
Louisa Wedgewood.
Kate (29:19):
Really?
Maurice (29:19):
Okay.
And she married Charles' father,and that's how they could
afford, he came through here,you know?
Kate (29:26):
He did.
Yeah.
Maurice (29:27):
And that's how he could afford to do all that, you know,
from probably
Kate (29:31):
the teapot fame.
Maurice (29:32):
Yeah, the teapot fame.
Kate (29:33):
So side note, Josiah Wedgwood married his third
cousin Sarah, and had eightchildren.
Their first born Susanna, notLouisa, married Robert Darwin
and indeed became the mother ofCharles Darwin, who also kept it
in the family by marrying hiscousin Emma Wedgwood.
Maurice (29:51):
Yeah.
So you learn a lot.
And so hidden in amongst allthose, the sterling silver ones,
I've got them all.
You know, Sterling silver thebest is Russian.
But the 935 part s in a thousandsilver, so very soft, and then
the English standard is 9 25.
Kate (30:08):
Hot tea tape number three.
If you're going to buy yourself
Maurice (30:11):
the English because of, European is 800.
Orient is 600, and that's aMexican one at 450.
Anyway, years ago, a teapot likethis.
I'm not joking, you know,$800people would pay for it.
And things have sort of settleddown, but because these are so
(30:31):
unique, and they truly are,they'd be worth a lot of money
when we're talking about howmuch.
But I'm not interested inselling them.
I just want people to admirethem and I particularly want
people to identify how periodshave changed.
This is a lot of this isreferred to as Mourning Teapots,
(30:52):
M O U R N I N G,
Kate (30:55):
Morning teapots are very rare.
The trend of mourning teapotsstarted when Prince Albert died
in 1860.
Maurice (31:01):
Because Queen Victoria, you know, they say her and
Albert's was a true love matchand she ebonized everything and
she wore black from the day hedied.
You might be aware that if youwere over 40, you were expected
to wear black for two years andthen purple for the next year,
right?
(31:21):
If you are under 40, you onlyhad to wear black for a year and
purple for six months.
Kate (31:28):
That's right.
Writer Patricia Lundy in heressay"Mourning and Tea: how the
Victorians found IdentityThrough Grief" says that wealthy
widows would be outfitted in amonochromatic wardrobe of raven,
drab clothes known as"widowsweeds" for the first year of
mourning.
But poor women would have to dyeone of their existing dresses
(31:48):
black, lest they be seen to notmourn properly, which would
render their marriageeffectively invalid in the eyes
of the community.
Maurice (31:57):
And that was because no decent gentleman would ask a
lady that was in black to go fora ride in the park, so that they
could get to know each otheruntil she was out of that.
And you know, when you seeroyalty at things like ANZAC and
everything, do you notice theyalways wear purple?
Well, you will now.
I will.
Yeah.
You'll pick up on it.
Kate (32:18):
So a royal in black, swipe left.
A royal in purple, okay to date.
Now you can watch The Crown witha renewed sense of interest in
their wardrobe choices.
Maurice, thank you so much forcoming on the podcast today.
Maurice (32:31):
It's been a pleasure, Kate, and uh, I hope I haven't
bored them too much.
Kate (32:39):
The museum is kid friendly and has animated and miniature
teapots on lower displays.
During school holidays, themuseum is open seven days a week
except public holidays.
Outside of school holidays, itis open five days a week except
public holidays.
The tea rooms are open from10:00 AM with last orders at
5:00 PM before closing at 5:30.
(33:00):
The admission fee for the museumis$5 50, which is refunded on
purchases over$5 50.
The museum has a number ofaccessibility features such as
accessible unisex toilets, aself-closing and automatic lift,
and disabled parking.
There's no steps within themuseum or tea rooms.
(33:20):
How incredible is that?
I truly didn't realize there wasso much to know about Tea and
teapots until talking withMorris.
Now I'm off to pour myself awarm cup of Jasmine Green Tea.
Thanks for listening to Roadshowand Tell.
If you enjoyed this deep diveinto a specialty museum, make
(33:42):
sure you subscribe so you don'tmiss an episode.
We're a new podcast.
So if you wanna help support us,please share it with a friend
and leave a rating and review.
If you are involved with or knowof a regional or specialty
museum that should be featured,please get in touch at
roadshowandtell@gmail.com.
I'm your host, Kate.
(34:05):
Roadshow and Tell was edited andproduced on the lands of the
Gadigal people.
I acknowledge the TraditionalCustodians of the various lands
on which you may be listeningfrom, and the lands that the
museums featured in this podcastreside on.
I also acknowledge anyAboriginal or Torres Strait
Islander people listening tothis podcast.
I pay my respects to elderspast, present, and emerging, and
(34:29):
celebrate the diversity ofAboriginal peoples and their
ongoing cultures and connectionsto the lands and waters of
Australia.
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